The Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan took effect on 15 December 2016. It is a statutory document, and sets out the agreed long-term uses for the five regeneration areas - Kaiapoi West, Kaiapoi South, Kaiapoi East, The Pines Beach and Kairaki – to facilitate recovery from the impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes and support regeneration.

The Recovery Plan is a milestone in the recovery and regeneration of both Waimakariri district and greater Christchurch.

What is the Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan?

The Recovery Plan will help to support, facilitate and coordinate the regeneration of the Waimakariri district.

The Canterbury earthquakes caused unprecedented and widespread damage in the Waimakariri areas of Kaiapoi, The Pines Beach and Kairaki.

About 100 hectares of land (mainly residential, but also including Council properties such as infrastructure and roads) was zoned red by the Crown as part of its emergency social policy response to the earthquakes.

On 3 September 2015, Hon Gerry Brownlee, the Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration (formerly the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) (the Minister) directed Waimakariri District Council (the Council) to develop a draft recovery plan for the intended long-term use of this land.

The Minister’s direction stated the draft recovery plan should reflect the following objectives:

promote the wellbeing of greater Christchurch communities

result in outcomes that are resilient and enduring

support economic development and growth

be affordable and consistent with the Government’s commitment to principles of responsible fiscal management.

The approved Recovery Plan sets out the agreed long-term uses for red zone land in Kaiapoi West, Kaiapoi South, Kaiapoi East, The Pines Beach and Kairaki - referred to as regeneration areas - and the practical next steps for the implementation of the recovery plan, including how ownership, funding and management of the different areas will be determined. This will provide greater certainty for residents, investors, business, other stakeholders and decisions about future Council infrastructure.

The Recovery Plan also reflects the need to balance certainty of outcomes for the community while allowing flexibility for long-term implementation and management of the agreed land uses.

The land uses in the Recovery Plan are based on available information about the relevant factors and considerations, including: geotechnical constraints, natural hazards, market demand, Council resourcing and demographic changes.

In summary, the agreed land uses are:

greenspace – 41 hectares, with various uses including sports fields, parks, a heritage and mahinga kai area, managing the land as part of the existing Tūhaitara Coastal Park, a memorial garden, BMX track and/or a dog park;

Implementation of the Recovery Plan will span at least the next 30 years, involving multiple parties and further community consultation. A first step will be for the Crown to divest land to the Council and the Trust, with the Council leading the implementation in early 2017.

Finalisation of the Recovery Plan

Following receipt of the Draft Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan on 1 August 2016, from the Council, the Minister publicly notified the Draft Recovery Plan on 3 August and invited written comments. The written comment period closed at 5pm, Thursday 1 September.

Sixty written comments were received: 23 through the online form on the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Facebook page, the DPMC webpage, email and hard copy forms, and 37 were comments from the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Facebook page.

A summary of the comments received was compiled including a breakdown of how the comments were made, key themes and the comments on an area-by-area basis.

The Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan was approved by the Minister and took effect on 15 December 2016.

Overview of the process and timeline for the development of the recovery plan

(Click image above to see full-sized image of the process timeline.)

Development of the Draft Recovery Plan

On 3 September 2015 the Minister directed the Council to develop a Draft Recovery Plan.

This followed ‘Canvas’, a Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA)-led feedback campaign conducted from July to September 2014, seeking the community’s views on the potential future uses of residential red zone land in Waimakariri. The findings were released in December 2014.

During October 2015 the Council held a number of events (called ‘Let’s Discuss’) for the community and business people to find out about the development of the Draft Recovery Plan. The events included drop-in sessions at the Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre, the Ohoka Farmers Market, Rangiora A & P Show, and two community meetings were held at the Kaiapoi Golf Club.

The Council with help from CERA, Environment Canterbury and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu then used feedback from the Canvas and Let’s Discuss processes and, together with updated geotechnical information for the five regeneration areas, produced the preliminary draft Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Plan.

The Preliminary Draft Recovery Plan was available for public comment for four weeks from 5 February to 4 March 2016 and included the Future Use Red Zone 3D Model Roadshow which consisted of 16 events throughout Waimakariri District.

A public hearing was held from 6 to 8 April 2016. The hearing panel made recommendations to the Council on 28 June 2016. The Council approved the Draft Recovery Plan on 26 July 2016 which was then delivered to the Minister on 1 August 2016.

The Minister then considered the written comments, other relevant information and advice, and the Draft Recovery Plan before making a decision about the Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan.

Frequently asked questions

What will a recovery plan do?

​The Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan will help to support, facilitate and coordinate the regeneration of the Waimakariri district.

It identifies the long-term uses of the residential red zones (regeneration areas) and the practical next steps for the implementation of the Recovery Plan, including how ownership, funding and management of the different areas will be determined. This will provide greater certainty for residents, investors, business, other stakeholders and decisions about future Council infrastructure.

What happens now the Minister has approved the Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan?

​The Recovery Plan process moves into the implementation stage. For some land uses this will involve District Plan changes, the transfer of land, and/or funding confirmation before work can begin.

Will there be further opportunity for community involvement?

​During the implementation stage (see above) the Council will still need to apply for resource consent for some activities. Generally, these will be publicly notified providing another opportunity for public feedback.

As well as being subject to the resource consent notification process, many of the land uses will also be consulted on through specific concept plans, eg. the proposed transport interchange.